Market Street,
San Francisco’s main stem, was laid out in characteristic San Francisco
fashion – without regard to topography. Jasper O’Farrell, an Irish
engineer who had migrated from Valparaiso, Chile, began surveying
and mapping the city’s streets in 1846. Based on
Philadelphia’s grid system, O’Farrell expanded the street
system in all directions from Portsmouth Square, then the city
center. Underwater "paper blocks" were created, since some of
O’Farrell’s streets went straight into San Francisco
Bay! Others have grades of more than 20 per cent, and
some grades too steep for any type of street vehicle.

O’Farrell also
laid out a second grid south of the first. The new grid was rotated
counterclockwise 38 degrees from the first. Market Street, as
O’Farrell designed, separated the two grids. It was to run
from the bay to Mission Dolores – where in 1776 San Francisco got its
start.

Market Street
of the late 1850s was far from being either broad (except on paper),
magnificent or populated. Sand dunes obstructing the
street towered as high as 60 feet above "street level."
Stagnant pools of water occupied sites destined for commercial
development. The wind literally propelled real estate, consisting largely
of sand, in all directions. On wet days Market Street was
muddy. On dry days it was dusty. Many regarded it as too
wide. Indeed, O’Farrell himself briefly left San Francisco to avoid
the repercussions from those who thought the width of Market was not
practicable.

No one
surveying Market Street of the 1850s would have dared to dream, that
within a generation, street railways would operate cars less
than every fifteen seconds. Although San Francisco’s
population and commercial activity was centered to the north
of Market Street, nevertheless there was an entrepreneurial
sprit to create a street railway for Market Street.

The explanation
was land. The goal was to bring the land to market. The method
would be a railway. Thomas Hayes, who owned a large tract in the Western
Addition, now known as the "Hayes Valley" and the banking house of Pioche
and Bayerque, who held Hayes’s mortgage, ultimately joined
with several large property owners in the Mission, to form a
business alliance to build a rail line connecting the main
part of San Francisco with the old Mission settlement, a distance of
three miles.

Small time
omnibus operators characterized San Francisco’s transportation scene in
the 1850's. Omnibuses were rough riding eighteen passenger
urban stage coaches. Two or four horse teams drew them.

The City’s
pioneering transit line began, in June 1851, as a half-hourly
omnibus route from Portsmouth Square to Mission Dolores using Mission
Street – one block south of Market Street. Fares initially were 50
cents on weekdays and $1.00 on Sundays. Competition soon forced the
fare down to 10 cents.

However, to
Hayes and associates the omnibus was an unsatisfactory solution. The city
was outgrowing them. They would build a horse car line. By
operating on rails, horse cars avoided (in theory) the problems of
ungraded streets. Importantly, horse cars had superior
productivity since they enjoyed reduced friction compared with
omnibuses. This allowed companies to increase the number of paying
passengers.

San Francisco Market Street
Railroad

The San
Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the franchise on June 19,
1856. This was the era of the Vigilantes, and unstable
government. Civil authority was in serious disarray. The state
of California reacted by passing the Consolidation Act of
1856. San Mateo county was severed from San Francisco.
Some of the city’s authority was transferred to the State
Legislature. When this happened, the franchise died.

Immediately,
Hayes and his associates reapplied to the State Legislature, and a new
franchise was granted on April 6, 1857. Thus began California’s
second passenger railroad – the San Francisco Market Street
Railroad. The railroad was also known as the "San Francisco &
Mission Rail Road," until reorganized in 1859.

It took,
however, until after the reorganization for Pioche
& Bayerque to provide adequate capital to start
construction. The relationship the railroad and its banker was
close. Company offices were in Pioche & Bayerque’s
building at Montgomery and Jackson streets. (This building was
not demolished until 1964.)

On May 3,
1859, grading began southwesterly along Market Street, beginning at
3rd Street. Grading was not as easy, as it would now
appear. High sand hills often covered Market Street’s official
grade. Scrub oak was laid as a thatch to help prevent sand
engulfing the rails. A steam locomotive, built by Young and
Stoddart, began moving, on December 28, 1859, cars loaded with sand
from 3rd Street to lower Market Street. This date marked the
beginning of the steam locomotive era for San Francisco.

During the
construction period, the downtown streets next to Market Street were
lowered, including the surrounding blocks. Once these projects
were completed the "downtown" gained the level topography that it
has today.

The
roadbed was completed one month later, in late April,
thanks largely to the use of a steam shovel (steam paddy). From 3rd
and Market the line ran on Market to Valencia and then on Valencia to 16th
Street.

The company
contracted with John W. Shaw for the track work. Shaw later had a
long and distinguished career in railroads, until his passing in
1898. An associate of his, Frank McCoppin, became the
superintendent of the new railroad. McCoppin would become a
major figure in San Francisco.

Track laying
began on April 2, 1860, again at 3rd and Market Streets and lasted
until June 28. The railroad’s yards & shops were on the west
side of Valencia Street, north of 16th Street. The route was single
track with turnouts, laid at 5’6" gauge. There were no
turntables. Trains ran forward in one direction and backwards in the
other.

On the 2nd of
July of that year a car was placed on the tracks in an unsuccessful
attempt to use horse power. Originally intended as a horsecar or
mule car line, the railroad had planned for steam power in the event
the grades would be unsuited for animal power. This was the
case. Charles W. Stevens, the railroad’s master mechanic,
wrote, in 1861, the line had "grades of upward of sixty feet
to the mile."

The company
laid T-rail of the type then used for steam operation.
However, instead of using rail joints to connect the rails together, the
ends of rails were merely spiked to a tie. This construction
resulted in uneven track and was a factor in some of the constant
criticisms of the line – namely, a rough ride and frequent
derailments. Passengers were annoyed. Importantly, when
competitive horsecars lines were built, many of the Market line’s
riders deserted to escape these inconveniences.

A steam
car designed by Spratt and Dibre and assembled by the Albion Foundry on
Pine Street was available for the inception of service.
Steam cars were part passenger and/ or baggage car and part
locomotive. Steam dummies, used later by other San Francisco
companies (see, Part I (All Aboard
to the Water "Playgrounds" of San Francisco)) had their
locomotive bodies camouflaged by a
wooden car body designed to resemble that of a horse drawn
streetcar. The idea was to stop horses from being frightened by a
belching steam locomotive. The camouflage did not fool horses.

Steam car No.1
was twenty-four feet long. Six feet was required for the
engine, five feet for the baggage area and remaining thirteen
feet was space for twenty passengers. Its car body rested on upon
four thirty-four-inch wheels, two of which were drivers. Power was
directly applied from two fourteen-inch stroke six inch
vertical cylinders. An upright tubular boiler, built by the
Thomas Snow Foundry on Market Street, was placed directly above the
driving wheels. No. 1 weighed seven and half
tons. Another San Francisco firm, Kimball & Baton,
constructed the steam car’s wooden body.

No. 2 completed
by Albion in the fall of 1860 and No. 3 built the next year
were only eighteen feet in length. The engine used eight feet with
remaining ten feet for a baggage compartment. Axles were eight feet
apart, with all four wheels connected. No. 2 and the line’s
subsequent steam cars had horizontal boilers. The last locomotive,
No. 4, was also built in 1861. The twenty-four foot
No. 4 had a single pair of thirty-six inch drivers and like
Nos. 2 and 3 had only a baggage compartment. All three engines
processed nine by fourteen inch cylinders. No. 4 had a return
tubular boiler.

San Francisco
firms of Kimball and Company and Casebolt & Kerr built fourteen
passenger cars. These cars were designed to be pulled either
by a team of horses or by steam power. Numbered 1 through 14,
they were forty foot long cars with a seating capacity for
sixty-four. Some cars, those built by Casebolt & Kerr in
1860, offered rooftop open air seating. In the car’s center was a
staircase leading to the roof.

Management was
not concerned that their franchise called for animal power. They
received permission to substitute steam power, in May of 1861, eight
months after they started regular steam train service.
However, there was an important proviso to the amended franchise –
namely, all steam power would be off Market Street by
1866 (later extended to March 1867).

A Memorable Opening

The troubled
republic was eighty-four years old on July 4, 1860 when by invitation of
the Market Street Railroad’s Board of Directors, a group of
fortunate San Franciscans rode the inaugural trip of reputably America’s
first steam-powered street railway. Steam car No. 1 had the
honors. Despite the fact the inaugural trip was subject to countless
delays causing some riders to return to the city by omnibus, it was
nevertheless regarded as a successful experiment. In fact, the
populace hailed it "as one of the greatest miracles of western
advancement." Newspapers dutifully reported the occasion as a
harbinger of great things to come for San Francisco. Before regular
service could begin, however, both steam car and coaches had
to be modified. No. 1went to the Albion’s
shops to get new and lower gears.

Revenue service
began on July 15, 1860, with the issuance of the first timetable.
The initial schedule called for hourly service between 8:00
A.M. and 8:00 P.M.. Trains destined for the Mission departed from
the depot at 3rd & Market Streets on the hour, and returned from
the Mission depot on the half-hour. Twelve round-trip trains ran
successfully on the first day. One-way travel time
was a rapid 10 minutes.

By September
25, the line could boast a full schedule, with trains until
12:30 A.M. Given the obvious superiority of steam power for this
route, on October 9, 1860 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
voted to table the motion compelling the company to use horses, and
urged the State to modify the franchise accordingly. Contemporary
newspaper accounts spoke of hourly service, with full
loads most of the day, and on Sundays passengers often filled
the cars beyond capacity. In two months short time, property
values in the Mission increased significantly. By October 15, the
tracks on Market Street below 3rd Street were ready, and importantly
the company overcame the legal obstacles to using steam on lower Market
Street. Afterwards the line’s eastern terminal for all trips
was California and Market Streets (close to today’s Ferry Building).

To The "Willows" and Hayes Valley

To bolster
traffic, the owners of the Market Street Railroad explored a variety
of options that would complement their railroad investment. A
solution was found in a modestly successful resort called the
"Willows" that featured a then famous suburban garden. On September 1,
1860, the railroad’s banker F.L.A. Pioche announced he had purchased
the "Willows." Pioche further revealed plans to extend the Market
Street Railroad directly to the gates of the "Willows." By January
16, 1861, all was ready. After that all Market Street
trains ended at the "Willows" depot. The depot was
located on Valencia between 18th and 19th Streets.
Positive results were immediate for both railroad and the resort.

Thomas Hayes
had originally projected the railroad also to serve the area of San
Francisco that bears his name today – the Hayes Valley. Hayes was
the major property owner in the valley. The "gandy dancers" had hardly
finished the line to the Mission, when they were called upon to
construct a branch line from Hayes and Market Streets into Hayes
Valley. The terminal would be at the site of the then
under construction "Hayes Pavilion" at Hayes Park, Laguna and Grove
Streets. (Often maps show incorrectly this line ending at Hayes and
Laguna, but contemporary newspaper accounts verify the routing to
Grove Street.) On October 15, 1860, the Hayes Valley branch opened.
Regular service ran from Market Street, where it connected with main line
trains, to Laguna and Grove with occasional special service from
California and Market Streets. Steam powered service was
limited. It ran only on Sundays, holidays, and special
occasions when pavilion traffic warranted. This
service ran from 12:30 P.M. until 11:30 P.M. At other times a
one-horse shuttle car served the branch. The branch was a financial
disaster, since the population of the Hayes Valley in 1860 was a mere
five.

Competition and Insolvency

Market Street
steam train service did not signal the end of the omnibus era. New
omnibus operations soon began – some lines complemented the railroad,
whereas others were competitors taking away riders. On March, 3, 1861, the
omnibus operator, George H. Finch started an omnibus service from Hayes
Park to the newly opened cemeteries near Lone Mountain. On March,
10, 1861, the firm of John Gardner, Michael Skelly & Co. opened
an opposition omnibus line from Portsmouth Square via Hayes Park to the
cemeteries. Richard Dougherty opened still another omnibus
service from Hayes Park to the Cemeteries on March 25. These
operations were generally helpful. Passengers would take the
railroad to Hayes Park where they transferred to an omnibus to
complete their journey to the cemeteries. The combination
train-omnibus trip was materially faster than an omnibus
only trip.

By the spring
of 1861, the railroad was enjoying the record level of
attendance at the "Willows" and Hayes Park. This prosperity was to
be short-lived. The Market Street line proved the superiority of rail for
moving large groups of people, sometimes as many as 10,000.
The Hayes Pavilion and "The Willows" had become San Francisco's first
large "Sunday Amusement" transit destinations. Many similar
venues would be developed and promoted.

April 29, 1861
would prove to be a day of major significance for the Market Street
Railroad. On that date ground was broken for the San Francisco &
San Jose Railroad (SF & SJ). In the future, the two companies
would have a very close relationship, despite the fact that initially no
physical connection was then planned between the two
railroads. The SF & SJ completed its line from San Francisco to
San Jose in January 1864.

San Francisco
street transportation was about to become highly competitive. On
January 22, 1861, the state legislature was petitioned by no less than
three separate companies for horsecar franchises. After "much agitation"
from San Francisco business interests and the petitioners, the
legislature in early April began hearings. On April 17, 1861,
the legislature authorized the franchises for the Freight (or Battery
Street) Railroad, the Folsom Street Railroad, and the Omnibus Railroad.

Although many
subsequent lines of these companies were not in direct competition with
the Market Street steam line, others were and did lure traffic
away. Both the North Beach & Mission (the Folsom Street
Railroad and the Freight Railroad were consolidated, August 24,
1862) and the Omnibus built lines designed divert traffic away from the
Market Street Railroad. The Omnibus opened a line January 11, 1863
on Howard Street (two blocks south of Market Street) to Center (now 16th)
Street, then up Center to Dolores in direct competition
with the Market Street Railroad. During the summer of 1864, the
Omnibus built a branch line on 18th Street from Folsom, to the
Willows gate at 18th & Mission Streets. This branch, which opened
during the fall of that year, siphoned off yet more passengers from the
Market Street road.

When compared
with the steam line, horsecar companies built these new horsecar lines
with both lighter construction standards and rolling stock. The
horsecar lines ran, with few exceptions, on streets that the city had
previously graded to the official grades. In short,
their capital investment was much lower. Smaller crews
were needed for the horsecar operation too. These factors enabled
the horsecar operators to provide more frequent service.
Wisely for revenue generating purposes, the horsecars ran
along built up streets. Market Street, in contrast, was still
largely undeveloped west of 9th Street.

A third
horsecar company, the Central Railroad, began construction in
mid-1863. One of its lines was the first direct rail route through
the Western Addition to the cemeteries at Lone Mountain. The
Central’s line compared to using the Market’s Hayes Valley branch was not
only quicker, avoided a transfer, but was also cheaper at ten cents,
and less roundabout. More traffic was lost.

To
compound matters, at the beginning of 1864, a
full-fledged fare war broke out between the horsecar companies. The
North Beach & Mission first lowered fares, but the Omnibus soon joined
to maintain revenue and market share. By March, according to
city hall, the competitive struggle had reached ruinous levels.
The City now stepped in to regulate fares. However, the
horsecar companies went to court to block fare regulation. On
March 23, 1864, the court decided in favor of the City. The street
railways had lost. They now needed municipal regulatory
approval to alter fares.

The combination
of high fixed and operating costs, compared with the competition, coupled
with declining revenues resulted in the Market Street Railroad not
earning expenses. Interest payments to the bondholders were
impossible. The two bankers, Pioche and Bayerque were forced
to accept positions on the railroad’s Board of Directors, in
lieu of loan repayment.

The Last Whistle

The financial
picture was getting steadily worse. To offset losses management on
April 1, 1864 lengthened headways to every forty minutes from half-hour
service. This only made the competitive horsecar lines more
attractive. The high labor and other costs of steam operation
were proving to be financially ruinous.

By January
1865, several things became clear. The Market Street Railroad
despite holding a valuable franchise was financially
on-the-ropes. Steam would have to be replaced both for legal (the
steam permit on Market Street had about two years left) and
economic reasons. In addition, the City was reconstructing
street grades to the "official grades." A main reason for selecting
steam had been the grades were too severe for horsecar service.
Steam was in its twilight. The road, to survive, had to be upgraded.

Extensions
would be required to enhance passenger revenue. Management’s last
act before foreclosure was on January 30. The main line was
extended from the "Willows" (17th Street) to the 25th & Valencia
depot of the SF & SJ. Passengers now could ride
(with a transfer) from San Jose into downtown San Francisco totally
behind steam.

The inevitable
came a month later, February 27, 1865. The financial strain was too
much for the line’s lenders, the banking house Pioche &
Bayerque. Foreclosure proceedings were brought by the banking
firm. As a result the Market Street Railroad gained new
ownership. Levi Parsons and LL Robinson of the San
Francisco & San Jose Railroad purchased line at the foreclosure
sale. Parsons and Robinson had ties with then
building Central Pacific Railroad, through their joint interest in
the Sacramento Valley Railroad. Frank McCoppin was kept in charge as
superintendent. By October, SF & SJ had formally absorbed the
Market Street Railroad. The operations of the Market Street
Railroad were kept separate , however, from its new parent.

In a further
attempt to reduce losses, service was curtailed on
August 1 to one train per hour. The new owner rapidly decided
to standardize the Market Street Railroad with the SF & SJ.
Additionally, management was anticipating the conversion to
horsecar. The entire system would be converted to a double
track standard gauge (4' 8½") operation. However in the short
run, the Market and Valencia track would be dual gauge, to
accommodate both standard gauge and 5'6" equipment. On
February 8, 1866, construction began on the new dual gauge
double track alignment. Standard gauge steam trains
began running on Market and Valencia Streets on June 8, 1866.
The company converted directly the Hayes Valley branch to a standard gauge
horsecar line running from Market and Hayes to Laguna and
Grove. New Stephenson built horsecars were acquired for this
service.

The change in
ownership combined with the new standard gauge track on Market Street
raised concerns that the SF & SJ would try to run its mainline
steam trains down Market Street. The cause of these
concerns was because, as time progressed, Market
Street’s steam locomotives were becoming more unpopular.
They were generally regarded as dirty, smoky, cinder throwers that impeded
increases in property values. Fears of long SF &SJ freight
trains blocking Market Street traffic aided the anti-steam mood.
Agitation mounted for the Market Street Railroad to switch to horse
power. The Board of Supervisors reacted by passing an ordinance
prohibiting steam train operation, after the temporary steam permit
expired, on Market Street east of 10th Street.
Passage, in 1866, of this ordinance illustrates the strong
political and economic pressures against continued steam
operation. In reaction to this ordinance the railroad asked the City
for permission to haul mule pulled freight cars on Market Street
between midnight and 6 A.M. to lower Market Street factories.
This was denied. The enemies of steam were taking no chances,
despite the fact that the following March the temporary permit
to run steam would end.

The two
railroads – the Market Street Railroad and the SF & SJ – were
connected to each other at Valencia and 25th on September 20,
1866. Four days later, the SF & SJ’s San
Francisco depot was moved to the intersection of Market and Valencia
Streets, later the site of the Market Street Cable Railway’s main cable
power plant and shops. This depot replaced a temporary
arrangement between the SF & SJ and the Central Railroad for a
station at 6th and Brannan Streets. SF & SJ and later
Southern Pacific steam trains would continue to use the Market
Street depot until 1872. The steam trains would share
trackage on Valencia Street with horsecars!

During December
1866, the Market Street Railroad ordered twenty-three
horsecars from the factory of John Stephenson. These cars were
large eight window two-horse vehicles. They would serve the
company well both as horsecars and many as rebuilt cable
cars. To improve ridership, the Hayes Valley
horsecar line was extended from Grove and Laguna, via Laguna,
McAllister, Fillmore, Golden Gate, and Devisadero Streets to O’Farrell
Street, where a small car house and stable was built.

On March 6,
1867, the ride was over. Market Street Railroad’s last steam train
ran. The franchise allowing steam had expired. Horsecar
service replaced steam the next day. The fare was cut to
10 cents at this time. However, this was not to be the last steam
whistle heard on Market Street.

The steam
railroad’s roundhouse and yards at 16th & Valencia Streets
remained, serving the new horsecar line, until its
conversion, in 1883, from horsecar to cable car. At
which time the railway leased the buildings and site to a large commercial
stable and horse auction business. The buildings were destroyed in
1906.

The Willows was
sold for a subdivision in 1868, and Hayes Park and its pavilion was
shortly afterwards. Newer resorts like the Cliff House and
Woodward’s Gardens were, by now catching the public’s fancy.

Two of the key
founders of the Market Street Railroad did not live long after the
changeover to horses. On June 28, 1868, Thomas Hayes died, his
finances exhausted by his railroad and real estate ventures. On May
2, 1870, F.L.A. Pioche, who suffered from manic depression, took his life,
after personal and financial reversals. J.W. Bayerque had died
on day of the sale, in 1865, to the SF & SJ.

Frank McCoppin
was a city supervisor at the time he ran the Market Street Railroad.
In 1867, when he became mayor he left the railroad. During his
tenure as mayor, the land for Golden Gate Park was acquired and
construction on the park begun. He later was a state senator,
president of Board of State Harbor Commissioners and Postmaster of San
Francisco. In this capacity, on September 15, 1896, he inaugurated
the Railway Post Office service in San Francisco. He died on May 26,
1897.

Market Street
Extension

By
1879, plans were being made to extend the Market Street Railway west
on Market Street from Valencia through a cut to 17th and Castro
Streets. Subsidized by the property owners, by 1880 the necessary
street grading was complete. Steam power was, again, selected
because the new grades west of Valencia Street were too steep for
animal power. An order of six identical Baldwin 0-4-2T steam
dummies was placed. Four of these were assigned to the Park &
Ocean Railroad (see, "When Steam Ran on The Streets of San
Francisco" Live Steam, Nov./Dec. 1999).

The remaining
two, assigned Market Street Railway Nos. 1 and 2, starting in 1880
operated on the Market Street extension from Valencia to Castro
Street. They had 12" x 16' cylinders with 36" drivers and weighed
40,000 pounds. The passenger cars used were built in the Central
Pacific’s Sacramento shops.

During
1884, agitation began to extend the Market Street Cable Railway
system from Valencia and Market over the steam dummy route to Castro and
then out Castro to 26th Street. After the railway was satisfied that
the appropriate grades had been established, construction on the new cable
car line began during the winter of 1887-88. On March 27, 1888,
steam dummy service was discontinued to complete the cable car line.
Two stages substituted until the new cable car line opened on August 27 of
that year.

The last Market
Street steam whistle had finally sounded.

Company Rosters

SAN
FRANCISCO MARKET STREET RAILWAYSteam cars

No.

Type

Cyl.

Dr.

Weight

Builder

Date

1

0-2-2T

16 x
14

34"

15,500

Albion

1860

24'
long; 6' engine, 5' baggage & 13' passenger
compartments

2

0-4-OT

9 x
14

Albion

1861

18'
long; 8' engine, 10' baggage

3

0-4-OT

9 x
14

Albion

1861

18'
long; 8' engine, 10' baggage

4

0-2-2T

9 x
14

36"

Albion

1861

24'
long; 8' engine, 16' baggage

Disposition of
steam cars, by number, is unknown. One steam car was sold to the San
Francisco and Oakland Railroad and was on that roster until August 1870
when that company was consolidated with the Central Pacific. The
engine after 1874 was used as a stationary engine in the Central Pacific
shops in Sacramento. Another was reported to have been used as a
hoisting engine in the construction of the San Fernando tunnel. The
passenger cars were sold to the Bayview & Potrero (horsecar) Railroad.